


According to Plan

by unsettled



Category: Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-01
Updated: 2010-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-10 08:26:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/97669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsettled/pseuds/unsettled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I was beginning to wonder if you would wake up at all."</p>
            </blockquote>





	According to Plan

It's all part of the plan, which is going along beautifully, but it is still utterly humiliating to stand in front of his so called peers and be judged, to see them shake their heads and tut and hide smug smiles behind mustaches. It is all an act, he reminds himself, and they will comprehend the role he is playing soon enough, but it does not stop the rise of fury in him, or the tremor of shame. Each knowing glance forces his head higher, his spine straighter, and he will show them that he still has his pride. Pride before fall, but he is not falling; he is rising, and they will see how high he goes.

He is not expecting the terror that slides in at the sight of the noose, but fear is never rational. It is dark under the hood, and sound muffled, and even the snick of the hook finding the harness he wears cannot calm his breathing; the drug is lying heavy in his veins, and there is air beneath his feet. His neck is not snapped, but it is still a jolt that will leave his torso bruised for days. He wills himself still, and soon the blackness within the hood is blotted out by the blackness behind his eyes.

When he climbs out of darkness and drugged dreams he is momentarily dazed, cold. He blinks at the ceiling, each blink clearing the haze and bringing back memories. He would close his eyes in relief, but he has had more than enough of closed eyes. He rises and discovers his limbs are stiff and sluggish. Coward is there, and catches him before he falls, easing him back to the bed. His is dizzy, the room spinning madly, but he will not close his eyes. Coward's hands are a steadying anchor.

Coward speaks before he can gather his tattered wits. "I was beginning to wonder if you would wake up at all," he quips, but Blackwood can hear the quaver of mingled relief and anxiety under his words. He turns his head, bringing Coward into focus, and is struck by the expression on his face. He raises a hand, and Coward closes his eyes beneath his touch, a sigh sliding from his mouth.

"It was… much more difficult than I expected, watching you die," he whispers, and Blackwood thinks, _I'm sorry_, but says nothing. If all goes as planned, as it has so far, Coward will never have to watch him die again; he has to admit it is not an experience he cares to repeat. Instead, he turns Coward's face into his, and does his best to kiss the worry out of him.


End file.
